February 2016 - Page 6 of 11

No Scalia Tears

February 16, 2016February 16, 2016 Buck Banks

Old Justice Scalia was never into constitutional interpretation.
For him, the pristine document was unchanged since its creation.
But now that Scalia
Has left this vale of tears,
He’s just as dead as his version of the U.S. Constitution.

Who Won the GOP Debate?

February 16, 2016 Buck Banks

32%

Of Saturday’s GOP debate watchers think Rubio won, followed by Trump at 24%, Kasich at 19%, Cruz at 12%, Carson at 8% and Bush at 5%, according to a CBS News/GfK Knowledge Panel survey.

Carson Raises $2 Million for Not Doing Much

February 16, 2016 Buck Banks

$2 million

Amount Ben Carson Inc. has raised since the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, “a startling windfall for a campaign that finished a distant-fourth in Iowa and dead last among eight active contenders in New Hampshire,” Politico reports.

Hey GOP, Scalia’s Death Is a Message from God – He Wants Pres. Obama to Appoint the Next Supreme Court Justice

February 15, 2016February 16, 2016 Jon Ponder

To hear them tell it, God is in constant communication with Republican politicians. In the current election cycle alone, he told no less than six out of the 16 (or whatever) Republican candidates that he wanted them to run for president.

He may have wanted them to run, but apparently he didn’t want at least five of them to win. Of the six — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, evangelical cult leader Ben Carson, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — only Kasich is still in the race.

[…]

Trump Sides with Liberals: Bush Should Have Been Impeached

February 14, 2016March 23, 2016 Jon Ponder

In his quest for the Republican Party presidential nomination, Donald Trump has changed his positions on a number of hot-button issues. He was once for legalizing drugs, for example, now he’s not. He once said he was “very pro-choice,” now he says he is pro-life. He supported background checks for gun buyers and a ban on assault weapons, now he says he’s a Second Amendment guy all the way. He once favored universal healthcare, now he toes the GOP line: He’ll repeal Obamacare but has no plan to replace it.

Based on an exchange at the Republican presidential debate in South Carolina last night, on one issue, at least, Trump still agrees with liberals. In fact, on this issue he’s to the left of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Pres. Obama.

Trump still believes George W. Bush should have been impeached.

[…]

South Carolina Malign-a

February 12, 2016 Buck Banks

I’m not saying all South Carolinians are mean-minded hicks,
But you have to admit the state’s notorious for dirty tricks.
You have to get muddy
And slimy and cruddy
If you play to win in S.C. presidential primary politics.

Most GOP Insiders Don’t Expect Trump to Win the Nomination

February 12, 2016 Buck Banks

85%

Of Republican insiders say Donald Trump “isn’t on a glide path to become the party’s nominee, despite a 22-point win in the New Hampshire primary this week,” Politico reports. “Their rationale is partly about math – Trump has a solid plurality of the vote in many states, but polls suggest he is too polarizing to win over a majority of Republicans – and partly grounded in the belief that the brash, sometimes-profane real-estate mogul will wilt once the other candidates turn their fire on him.”

Trump Builds ‘Yuge’ National Lead

February 12, 2016 Buck Banks

44%

Donald Trump’s huge national lead over his GOP rivals, followed by Ted Cruz at 17%, Ben Carson at 10%, Marco Rubio at 10%, Jeb Bush at 8% and John Kasich at 4%, according to a new Morning Consult poll. In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders, 46% to 39%.

Clinton Has Little Traction with Youth Vote

February 12, 2016 Buck Banks

It is fair to wonder about Clinton’s ability to put the party back together if she does become the nominee. Getting youth turnout is always tricky for Democrats, and Clinton is getting absolutely annihilated with young voters: She lost the youngest group of voters (17-29 in Iowa and 18-29 in New Hampshire) 84%-14% and 83%-16%, respectively. Now, we know that Barack Obama put the party back together fairly easily in 2008, and that if Clinton is the nominee she will be able to use her Republican opponent as a motivational tool. But these are staggeringly lousy numbers for Clinton nonetheless.

— Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball

2016 College Freshmen the Most Liberal in 40 Years

February 12, 2016February 12, 2016 Buck Banks

34%

Percentage of college freshmen finds that 34% of first-year students view themselves as “liberal” or “far left” — the highest since 1973, when 36% responded that way, according to a new Higher Education Research Institute survey. In contrast, just 22% identify as “conservative” or “far right.”

Month: February 2016

No Scalia Tears

Who Won the GOP Debate?

32%

Of Saturday’s GOP debate watchers think Rubio won, followed by Trump at 24%, Kasich at 19%, Cruz at 12%, Carson at 8% and Bush at 5%, according to a CBS News/GfK Knowledge Panel survey.

Carson Raises $2 Million for Not Doing Much

$2 million

Amount Ben Carson Inc. has raised since the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, “a startling windfall for a campaign that finished a distant-fourth in Iowa and dead last among eight active contenders in New Hampshire,” Politico reports.

Hey GOP, Scalia’s Death Is a Message from God – He Wants Pres. Obama to Appoint the Next Supreme Court Justice

Trump Sides with Liberals: Bush Should Have Been Impeached

South Carolina Malign-a

Most GOP Insiders Don’t Expect Trump to Win the Nomination

85%

Trump Builds ‘Yuge’ National Lead

44%

Donald Trump’s huge national lead over his GOP rivals, followed by Ted Cruz at 17%, Ben Carson at 10%, Marco Rubio at 10%, Jeb Bush at 8% and John Kasich at 4%, according to a new Morning Consult poll. In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders, 46% to 39%.

Clinton Has Little Traction with Youth Vote

— Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball

2016 College Freshmen the Most Liberal in 40 Years

34%

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“One woman at a rally in New Jersey told me last week that she was ‘nauseously optimistic.’ That may capture a lot of people’s last-minute jitters.”

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), quoted by Axios, on what Democrats feel ahead of the midterm elections.

“I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace’s bathroom.”

— Former President Bill Clinton, quoted by The Wrap.

“Boy, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. It feels like a real desperation play to me, because it has got zero basis in the law.”

— Republican election law expert Ben Ginsberg, quoted by Politico, on the Trump administration’s effort to invalidate Alaska’s election results.

Numerati

3,824

$1.4 billion

-35 points

31%

63% to 38%

KFF Poll: “With the 2026 midterm campaigns in full swing and early voting about to begin, there is a wide enthusiasm gap between partisan voters, with Democratic voters 25 percentage points more likely than Republican voters to say they are ‘more motivated’ than usual to vote (63% vs. 38%).”